Padres Split Brief Series With Twins

Aug 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso (23) hits a double in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

  Padres Series Overview 

The Padres (52-61) split the series with the Twins (51-61) at Target Field this week. Both rookie pitchers made mistakes that made life difficult for the Padres to overcome. In the series preview, I mentioned that the Padres needed just a little offense to win the series. One run in the first game didn’t cut it but the Padres came through in Game 2. Both Jesse Hahn and Odrisamer Despaigne had decent starts, but nothing spectacular like last month.

The offense sputtered at times, but it was not completely in shut-down mode. The team hit .284 in the two games. The Padres got to Kevin Correia after a few innings after being silenced most of the game. The offensive player of the series is Yonder Alonso. He seemed to have been slumping since his return from the DL a couple of weeks ago. But he was responsible for the only run in Tuesday’s loss when he hit his 6th home run of the year. He had 3 hits in that game and added 3 more on Wednesday, including the key double that would eventually tie the game in the top of the 9th.

The pitching staff wasn’t as lights-out as usual, but they still pitched well. The staff as a whole had a 3.50 ERA in the two games. The bullpen pitched 6.2 innings of shutout ball. Hahn and Despaigne walked a combined 7 Twins. The Padres offense just could not pick up the occasional hiccup by the starters.

Aug 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Kennys Vargas (19) hits a three run home run in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

 Game 1: L, 3-1 

Game 1 featured a version of Jessie Hahn the Padres had not seen in a while. He walked 4 in 5.2 innings and allowed 3 runs on one pitch. He surrendered a home run in the 6th to rookie Kennys Vargas, marking his first career big fly. All 3 Twins runs came on his swing and it was enough to win the game. Alonso got the Padres on the board first with a solo home run in the 5th. They had a 1-0 lead until that home run in the 6th. Alonso had 3 hits in the game and Will Venable added 2 hits including a double. The Padres had 12 hits in the game but could not capitalize. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the game. The Friars left 11 men on base throughout the game.

The loss put Hahn at 7-3. Phil Hughes won his 11th game as he pitched well, striking out 9 for Minnesota and only allowed the Alonso home run. He also scattered 7 hits. The Twins did what the Padres couldn’t, got a big hit when it counted. The Padres out-hit the Twins 12 to 5 but still lost the game.

Aug 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Seth Smith (12) hits a single in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

 Key Players of the Series

The top players for the Padres in this series were Yonder Alonso, Seth Smith and Alex Torres. Alonso went 6-for-8 in the series with a home run, RBI, two doubles and two runs scored as he seemingly broke out of his slump. Smith had one hit in Tuesday’s loss but had 2 big hits in Wednesday’s game. He hit his 23rd double of the year, driving in the Padres’ 2nd run of the game and setting up the rally to eventually tie it at 3-3. Then in the top of the 10th, he led off the inning with a mammoth home run, his team-leading 12th of the year. That put the Padres up 5-4 and that would eventually be the final score. Time and time again, Smith comes through big for the Padres when no one else can.

Alex Torres also was a key piece in the Padres extra-inning victory. He entered the game in a bit of a jam that Despaigne left behind in the 6th. He got out of that and then induced a nice double play in the 7th to get out of that jam. Without the clutch pitching of Torres, the Padres could have lost that game.

Aug 6, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Tommy Medica (14) breaks his bat in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Where They Stand 

With the Padres now at 52-61, they surpass the Twins in winning percentage. They also remain firmly in 3rd place pending the other National League games tonight. They are 11.5 games back of the Dodgers, three games ahead of the Diamondbacks and 7.5 games ahead of the last-place Rockies. The Friars are now 9-11 in interleague play. That was the end of interleague games for the Padres in 2014. The Padres are now 4-1 to start off the month of August. They are yet to have a winning record in a month this year, with their best month being May, when they went 13-14, a .481 winning percentage.

The Padres are now at a team average of .224, as it continues to rise. Not too long ago it was hovering around .214. Smith boosted his average back up to .290. Medica’s continues to rise, now at .277. Alonso’s average has soared in these two games, at the start of the series it was at .217 and now it is at .233. The key to this series split was the timely hitting in Game 2. The Padres’ bats are yet to cool off this month. If the Padres can continue to get as many hits as they have, while mixing in some hits with runners in scoring position, they can beat anyone.